Why I Wouldn't Baptize Justin Bieber

Last summer Justin Bieber--the Canadian pop boy-wonder--was reportedly baptized by pastor Carl Lentz in New York City. By now this is old news, but it fits with last Sunday's celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. When I first read about Justin's baptism, it got me to thinking about how I would respond to him as a pastor. If Justin had come to me asking to be baptized, I would not -- in fact, I could not -- perform that ceremony for him.

Jealous of that hair

That's not because I don't like JB's music, and it's not because I think he is being disingenuous. I couldn't do it because Justin has already been baptized. As a United Methodist pastor, I am not allowed to rebaptize someone. We teach that baptism is forever and doesn't need to be re-done. If someone is baptized as an infant and later renews their faith, then we have a ceremony for that called a Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant. It involves public confession, prayer, and water -- but it isn't a baptism. I would have welcomed Justin to claim his previous baptism in this reaffirmation ceremony -- but in front of a congregation and not in a private pool.

This refusal to rebaptize puts United Methodists in disagreement with several other Christian groups. The difference usually comes down to the practice of infant baptism. Some Christians think that baptizing babies is invalid and unbiblical, claiming that the baptized should be old enough to make a public declaration on their own. If this is a part of one's practice and doctrine, then of course an infant baptism doesn't "count." A pastor from one of these traditions would gladly rebaptize someone like Justin, who had been baptized as a baby.

This blog post is not going to resolve the ancient debate about the validity of infant baptism. (And I'll not even touch the issue of dunking versus sprinkling.) I will just say that the Methodist position teaches that baptism is a celebration of a covenant that God makes with humanity -- one that is all about God's work on our behalf. A rebaptism can communicate that a single person's decision to seek renewal or cleansing is more important than the work of God's grace. A life-changing moment of repentance in life is indeed something that we Methodists proclaim and encourage. Our own founder, John Wesley, experienced God in a new and life-changing way after he was already an ordained minister. But in that moment of renewal we celebrate that God had already been pursuing us from the beginning. That's what our baptisms are about. A reaffirmation of that covenant love is very appropriate, and it places the focus on God's love instead of on a human decision.